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Ortega |
type: restaurant - Tapas / Spanish For – good music, good desserts Against – the food, tacky decor |
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After a busy
Sunday taking my son to Oundle to play rugby, and not feeling like cooking
or eating anything too challenging we had the idea of trying the newly
opened Tapas Bar, Ortega. Part of the Tragus group which includes Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge, both of which are in MK, they must think people round here like their brands. Obviously not many people had realised that this restaurant was now open, since there were just a handful of customers when we arrived. First impressions are of a tacky attempt to recreate someone's stylised idea of what a Tapas bar should look like. I have visited many Tapas bars in Spain and have yet to see wooden carved bull's heads on the wall. The music was good, though - a selection of Spanish tunes gave the right background. We had a language problem with our waitress who I think was telling me she spoke Spanish and Italian, but obviously not much English. We eventually got our drinks and managed to indicate what Tapas dishes we wanted by pointing at the menu and holding up the requisite number of fingers. This part at least was authentic since this is how I tend to communicate when in Spain. Despite the fact that there were less than 10 people in the restaurant, it took a while for the food to arrive I knew we were in for a disappointment as soon as the food was placed on the table. One of the dishes my children love most when in a Tapas bar is gambas pil pil, which normally arrive sizzling and swimming in a peppery sauce. These where bone dry. And luke warm. And someone seemed to have forgotten to put any pepper on them. Calamari was luke warm and chewy with a thick, soggy batter. The chorizo looked as though it had been cut with a vegetable peeler to give it a different look. It was cold. Other dishes were served at a similar temperature. This was washed down with a not very good Rioja Reserva at £25. Dessert was OK, though. My Crema Catalana was good and my two children enjoyed their Copa de helado, an ice cream and banana dish which reminded me of a knickerbocker glory from the 70's; but then neither of these dishes are particularly challenging to prepare. My wife summed the food up perfectly - Insipid.
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